Our SOA Watch delegation is deeply concerned about the U.S.-Colombia Defense Cooperation Agreement, by which Colombia permits the U.S. to use seven Colombian military bases. We are in Colombia to express our solidarity with Colombians and other Latin Americans in protesting and denouncing this agreement, and we commit ourselves to continue this struggle in the United States.

In an article entitled “Yankees Welcome,” the Colombian magazine Semana (October 31, 2009) analyzed the agreement, noting with concern a U.S. Air Force (USAF) document which reveals the strategic interests of the Pentagon in upgrading the Colombian base at Palanquero, one of the seven bases included in the agreement. This article in Semana can be found at http://www.semana.com/noticias-nacion/yankees-welcome/130763.aspx

According to this USAF document, “development of this CSL (Cooperative Security Location) provides a unique opportunity for full spectrum operations in a critical sub- region of our hemisphere where security and stability is under constant threat from narcotics funded terrorist insurgencies, anti-U.S. governments, endemic poverty and recurring natural disasters.”

The magazine Semana explains that the document is a “report in which the Pentagon explains to Congress its plans for 2010, requesting, among other things, $46 million to be invested in developing the base at Palanquero. This is the first official document to mention the interest which the U.S. may have in using the Colombian base to help to maintain ‘security and stability’ vis-à-vis countries which are not favorable to Washington.”

"Full Spectrum Operations throughout Latin America" The document, entitled “Military Construction Program,” was presented to the U.S. Congress in May 2009. It begins with a presentation of the “mission” or “major functions” of the project: “Palanquero provides an opportunity for conducting full spectrum operations throughout South America….”

Later the document refers to the “current mission”: “A fully functional airfield and ramp is essential for supporting the U.S. mission in Columbia [sic] and throughout the U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) Area of Responsibility (AOR)…. This project will accommodate transport/supply, fueling and operational aircraft in the AOR….”